Smoked low & slow in Burnside, Christchurch

The Board

Everything is smoked over manuka and cherry wood for a minimum of eight hours. Served when it is ready — never before.

Meats — by weight

Beef brisket, 14-hour$32/250gWagyu-cross from Canterbury. Bark crust, pink smoke ring.

Pulled pork shoulder$24/250g12-hour smoke, Carolina mustard glaze.

Pork ribs, half rack$28Dry-rubbed, no sauce unless you ask.

Pork ribs, full rack$48

Smoked chicken, half$22Free-range, brined overnight, smoked 4 hours.

Hot links sausage$14House-made pork and beef, smoked paprika and cayenne.

Lamb ribs (Friday only)$34Canterbury spring lamb, 6-hour smoke.

Sides

Mac and cheese$10Smoked cheddar, panko crust.

Cornbread$6Jalapeno and honey butter.

Coleslaw$8Apple cider vinegar, no mayo.

Smoked beans$9Bourbon, molasses, belly ends.

Pickled jalapenos$5

Sauces — $4 each

Original smoke$4Tomato, manuka honey, smoked garlic.

Hot Burnside$4Habanero, brown sugar, vinegar.

Reaper Reserve$4Carolina Reaper and mango. Sign the waiver.

Carolina mustard$4Yellow mustard, vinegar, turmeric. Zero heat.

Drinks

Craft beer (rotating taps)$12

Three Boys IPA$12

Lemonade (house-made)$6

Sweet iced tea$5

Platters and combos

Feed the table.

Combo plates

The Regular — pick two meats + two sides$32

The Pitmaster — pick three meats + three sides$46

The Full Burnside — every meat + every side$120Feeds 3–4 people. Comes with all four sauces.

Low and slow

Fourteen hours from rub to board.

4am — The rubEvery cut gets a hand-rubbed mix of ten spices, brown sugar and espresso. The rub recipe has not changed since we opened.
5am — Into the smokerManuka and cherry wood loaded into two offset smokers built from old dairy vats. Temperature set at 107 degrees and held there all day.
10am — The stallInternal temperature plateaus around 70 degrees. We wrap the brisket in butcher paper and wait. No foil, no shortcuts.
3pm — The probeWhen a probe slides through the flat like butter — around 96 degrees internal — the brisket comes out. Ribs and chicken are pulled as they finish.
4pm — Rest and sliceAt least 60 minutes resting in the warming box. Then we slice to order. The bark cracks, the smoke ring shows, and you eat.

Catering and events

We bring the smoker to you.

On-site catering for groups of 30 to 200. We arrive with our mobile offset smoker, set up, smoke and serve. Pricing is per head and includes all meats, sides, sauces and compostable plates.

The Backyard

$45/head

Two meats, three sides, two sauces, bread rolls. Minimum 30 people.

The Block Party

$65/head

Three meats, four sides, all sauces, cornbread, smoked pineapple dessert. Minimum 50 people.

The Pitmaster's Table

$85/head

Every meat including wagyu brisket, all sides, craft beer included, dedicated pitmaster. Minimum 40 people.

Allergens

What is in the food.

Everything is prepared in one kitchen. Cross-contamination is possible with all listed allergens. Ask our staff about modifications.

Allergen matrix for menu items.
Item	Gluten	Dairy	Egg	Soy	Nuts	Mustard
Beef brisket	–	–	–	–	–	–
Pulled pork	–	–	–	–	–	Yes
Pork ribs	–	–	–	–	–	–
Smoked chicken	–	–	–	Yes	–	–
Hot links sausage	Yes	–	–	–	–	–
Mac and cheese	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
Cornbread	Yes	Yes	Yes	–	–	–
Coleslaw	–	–	–	–	–	–
Smoked beans	–	–	–	–	–	Yes

Our story

Built in a Burnside garage.

Sam Elliot spent two years competing in American BBQ competitions before converting a single-car garage on Donovans Road into a smokehouse in 2019. The first customers were neighbours who followed the smoke. The dining room came in 2021 — a 60-seat fit-out in what used to be a panel-beating shop next door.

The smokers are two custom-built offset drums welded from decommissioned Fonterra dairy vats. We burn manuka from the West Coast and cherry wood from a Central Otago orchard. The rub is the same ten-spice recipe Sam brought back from a pitmaster in Austin, Texas, with one Canterbury addition: locally roasted espresso.

We do one thing and we do it slowly. No deep fryer, no pizza oven, no dessert menu (apart from that smoked pineapple). Just fire, smoke and time.

Hours and location

Find the smoke.

Opening hours

Monday	Closed
Tuesday	Closed
Wednesday	11:30am – 8pm (or sold out)
Thursday	11:30am – 8pm (or sold out)
Friday	11:30am – 9pm (or sold out)
Saturday	11:30am – 9pm (or sold out)
Sunday	11:30am – 4pm (or sold out)

No bookings — walk in. When the meat is gone, we close the board.

Getting here

42 Donovans Road, Burnside
Christchurch 8053
03 348 0000
eat@burnsidebbq.co.nz

Parking out front and down the side. Bus route 28 stops at Burnside Park — three-minute walk.

Enquire about catering →